How would I know?
He hasn’t claimed you yet. Brakkor said his scent wasn’t on you.
So what didthatmean when it came to what our future was going to look like?
He didn’t belong in my world, and I…I would be safe in his world, but did that mean I’d be happy?
You love him.
Yeah. Yeah, I did love him.
“I have gifts for you.”
My gaze jerked up at his announcement. His tone and his gaze were almost…wary? So I smiled encouragingly.
“You’ve already done a lot for me, Garrak.”
“I owed you. I was the one who declared you’d be staying on Eastshore Isle.” He nodded to the t-shirt I’d picked out yesterday, which I was wearing with my new-to-me jeans. “And you need more stuff.”
More…stuff? My brows rose.
We both hurried to finish breakfast, then he went into the living room and pulled out a bunch of bags from behind the couch, setting them one by one on the coffee table. My eyes got bigger with each one as I recognized the names of the stores on the sides of the bags, and I slowly inched toward them, hardly believing this was happening.
“You went…shopping for me?” I breathed.
“And I’ll return anything you don’t like or don’t want.” He shrugged modestly as he stepped up to me. “I had a lot to think about last night, and I found myself on the mainland.”
Dimly, I remembered what he’d said about the ferry’s last run, and I wondered how he’d gotten there and back after dark, but I was too focused on thehopeI saw in his eyes. He’d done this forme. Because he wanted me to be happy.
So I smiled and reached up to cup his cheek. “What were you thinking about, Garrak?”
His hands settled on my hips, pulling me flush against him. His cock pressed against my stomach, but it wasn’t as hard as it had been this morning. “You,” he admitted. “And how much I wanted to see you in some of these clothes.”
Well, I knew what was expected of me. When a male splurges on a shopping spree, he expects to see his female in the clothing. Laughing, I spun away from him and snagged the bags. “Go sit down, I’ll be right out.”
In the bathroom, I took the time to fluff my hair and apply some makeup, wanting to make thisA Thing. Then I began to pull out the outfits.
The first set of jeans fit me almost as well as mine did, and I was impressed Garrak had eyeballed me so well. There was also a collection of plain t-shirts, and I liked that he got my style.
With a grand flourish, I opened the bathroom door to find him sitting on the couch, his legs stretched out in front of him, one arm over the back, grinning in anticipation. Pretending a catwalk stretched between us, I pranced down, spun, and strutted back toward the door, maintaining a serious expression while narrating.
“And up next is Stevie in stone-washed jeans and a teal t-shirt, carefully chosen to coordinate with her hair, which is going to need a touch-up on the color in a few days, because those roots are beginning to show. You’ll notice she’s chosen to coordinate with infinitely sexy bare feet in need of a pedicure.”
Garrak, playing his role, politely applauded as he chuckled, and as I retreated into the bathroom, he called out, “I like your bare feet.”
The next outfit was yoga pants and a tank top which was frankly cut a little too low in the front. And the back. And under both arms. Maybe that was why he sat forward, settling his elbows on his knees, a gleam of something wicked in his eyes.
The next one was a dress—a really cute little dress—in shades of purple with a muted design that came to my knees and had sweet little cap sleeves. I couldn’t imagine inwhatcontext I would wear something like this, but I felt pretty, and as I did a little spin in front of him, Garrak whistled.
Laughing, I waved away his compliment. “What in theworldwould I do with something like this?”
“Look stunning when I take you out for dinner tonight,” he promptly replied. “Just wait until you see the next one.”
Eager despite the voice in my head telling me I didn’tneedany of this stuff, I hurried back to change again. I gasped when I pulled the gown out of the bag. I mean, maybe it wasn’t a gown, but it had sparkles and it was almost floor length, and itlookedlike a gown. It was ivorywith blue beading, and it was just a little too tight across the boobs for me.
I peeked out of the bathroom. “Garrak, I donotneed a ball gown.”
“Maybe not.” He grinned, his hands unclasping as he straightened. “Youneednew undies and a bra, and those are in there too. But I saw that, and it reminded me of your eyes when you smile, and I wanted to see you in it.”
